


Mementos

by echoflowertea



Series: Living [34]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Female Reader, Reader Is Not Frisk, fat reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 08:03:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8242208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/echoflowertea/pseuds/echoflowertea
Summary: You and the brothers go through the grueling process of moving into your new house together. Thankfully, they always seem to know how to make it fun.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i update this series on fridays!
> 
> (unless, you know, a key falls off on my keyboard and delays me from completing it on time like today, lol)
> 
> come hang with me on **[tumblr](http://echoflowertea.tumblr.com/read)**!

“OKIE DOKIE, NOW JUST RELAX.”

“Papyrus, this is kinda hard.”

“YOU’RE OVERTHINKING IT. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN. NOW JUST RECLINE AS MUCH AS YOU’D LIKE, I PROMISE THIS WILL MEAN LITERALLY NOTHING TO ME.”

You sighed and adjusted yourself, burying further into the cushions. Papyrus had a bit of an ego, you always knew that, but you figured that it was sort of like…a begrudgingly adorable trait. Something that rarely caused trouble, took a little getting used to, but was downright endearing after years of coming to love him with all of his faults and flaws. He really was an interesting monster outside of your relationship with him, his personality as complex as the puzzles he adored so much.

“THERE WE ARE. PICTURE PERFECT. SANS, SNAP A PICTURE.”

Click.

“heh, got it.”

“You TRICKED me!” you cried, trying to make yourself look as small as possible. “I wasn’t ready!”

“WELL, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD BE MORE ATTENTIVE! WE CAN ALWAYS TAKE ANOTHER. POSE LIKE THAT SAUCY SCENE IN THAT ONE ROMANCE MOVIE ABOUT SINKING SHIPS.”

“oh my god. do it. and say the line.”

“I’m not saying it!”

“then pose, at least.”

You huffed and did as they asked. Undyne walked by and cracked up.

“What are you three DOING?”

“NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. THIS IS FOR OUR EYES ONLY, NOW SHOO!” Papyrus turned his attention back to you, framing your body with his hands tilted and shaped like a camera. “ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO DO BEFORE I CART YOU AWAY?”

You stuck your tongue out in response.

“I SEE. YOU ARE FINISHED PLAYING, SO I WILL JUST MAKE SURE WE GET YOU ONTO THE TRUCK. WHAT GOOD WOULD IT BE TO MOVE IF WE FORGOT YOU?”

Without much more delay, Papyrus took one end of the couch and easily lifted it from its spot in the living room. You nearly screamed and clung to the cushions for dear life when he just hauled it over his shoulders like it was nothing. Letting the full weight bear down on him while he made sure to approach the front door.

“Can I even fit through the doorway?”

“OF COURSE YOU CAN. WHAT KIND OF STRANGE HOUSE WOULD WE LIVE IN WHERE THE COUCH COULD GET IN, BUT NOT OUT?”

“No, I mean…just forget it,” you laughed. “Take it away, Paps!”

Sans stood back and supervised just to make sure that nothing happened. And by “supervising”, he was actually cracking terrible jokes to piss Papyrus off. You really weren’t sure what you expected. The older of the skelebros only stuck around to cause trouble these days, it seemed.

“I DON’T SEE WHAT ALL THE FUSS IS ABOUT. WE WENT RIGHT THROUGH NO PROBLEM.”

You still couldn’t believe it. You really thought he would have to twist and wiggle the couch out of the doorway, but he didn’t at all. He just…waltzed on through like it was second nature. For a split second, you wondered if maybe the incident was because he and Sans had no issues in bending time and space in their everyday, inane actions.

Papyrus stepped out into the bright sunlight outside. There were tons of boxes waiting to be carted into the moving truck parked near the curb, a few movers standing around and drinking water to rehydrate after working so hard. Papyrus was the one that shoved water bottles at them and ranted about the importance of humans and their electrolytes, which was as adorable as it was hilarious.

“don’t drop her, bro.”

“AS IF I WOULD EVER???” Papyrus squawked. “THIS IS PRECIOUS CARGO. THE MOST VALUABLE HUMAN IN THE GALAXY. AND SHE NEEDS TO BE TRANSPORTED TO OUR NEW HOME IMMEDIATELY. HER DELICATE LITTLE TOES MUST NOT REACH THE GROUND OR ELSE WE WILL BE SHAMED FOR LIFE!!!”

You snorted. “Oooookay, Paps. Going a little overboard. I’m not going to crumble if I walk.”

“SHH. PLAY ALONG, THIS IS EXCITING. NOW. TAKE YOUR SEAT ON YOUR THRONE AND JUST SIT TIGHT. I WILL BE BRINGING SNACKS.”

You smiled as he set you down delicately onto the front yard and then dashed away.

From here, you had a full view of all the things that’d been dragged out from the house, not to mention the rows and rows of boxed items that would be unpacked at your new place. You were actually…excited about this process, as draining as it was. Moving would take a couple of days, and you’d basically be living out of a suitcase for a little while, but it would be so worth it.

Sans stepped in front of you. “permission to climb aboard, yer majesty?”

 “Access denied. What’s the password?”

 “uh, open sesame.”

“Ew, wrong. And minus points for being so cliché.”

He grinned. “ok. then what about this. ‘my human is the cutest one that ever lived’.”

“Sans, no.”

“no? ok. ‘the sexiest one that ever lived’.”

“…”

“huh, not that one either? ‘my human makes the best noises when i hit her sweet spot, one time she dug her nails in so hard that we both got injured’.”

“S-shut up?! Oh my god, the movers can hear you!!!”

“you started it.”

Papyrus came back with several boxes stacked on his shoulders. “I FOUND SOME POCKETS OF UNPACKED THINGS IN SANS’ ROOM, WHICH ISN’T A SURPRISE CONSIDERING HOW DISGUSTING IT WAS. I’M STILL HORRIFIED AT THE SMELLS THAT ASSAULTED MY NASAL CAVITY. IF YOU TWO COULD TACKLE IT, I WOULD BE VERY HAPPY!!!”

He seemed to forget that you were couch royalty, but you didn’t mind. You hopped down and headed back up the path to the entrance, Sans trailing after you at his own leisurely pace.

You headed to Sans’ room. What could Papyrus have been talking about? It took about eight trashbags in order to clean it enough just to pack stuff up, but apparently you’d missed something big.

“put it in a pile over here.”

You approached the items that Papyrus was going on about. A small stack of various items all in the corner. Some of them looked like letters and cards. Others were gifts with ribbons and other frilly wraps. You dropped down to your knees and grabbed the nearest one, marveling at the hand-stitched designs on a canvas just for him. In perfect cursive was a simple “Sans”.

“Is this…like…passed down stuff? From your…parents?”

Sans laughed and joined you on the ground, reaching for what was in your hands. He was a little more embarrassed than you would’ve guessed. “nah. this is…junk.”

“Junk? Sans, this looks pretty important to me. I mean, look at this.” You showed him the card with sweeping letters and artwork. “So who sent it?”

He sighed and leaned back on his hands, avoiding eye contact with you. “…fans.”

“Oh, you mean like, fans of your comedy show?”

“kinda.” He looked uncomfortable. “girls…that liked me. underground.”

Whoa. “Oh. Um. I had no idea…”

You dropped what you were holding like you’d been burned. Taking a good look at the sheer amount of it around. You hadn’t noticed it at first, but…it was kind of a lot. There was much more than you initially saw, and…it seemed to multiply a tenfold now that you knew what it was.

After a little more snooping, you discovered some…interesting gems. Sans received a lot of letters from his admirers. Some of them were subtle, others were blatant. They weren’t always outright romantic, though a few of them were showered in purple prose and kind of made you sick to your stomach. There were a lot of handmade gifts. Things that he could use around Snowdin, little books that he might like, even some innocent photos of his admirers.

You couldn’t help yourself. You flipped through every single one of them to see if there was anyone that you recognized, but Sans seemed to notice about halfway through. He eventually reached out and stilled your hand from digging around more in the pile of crap, his eyesockets lopsided and sweat beaded at his temple.

“you’re startin’ to fixate. i can see it.”

You bit your lower lip. “I had no idea you were so popular.”

“popular…heh.” He shrugged. “not really. know some people. some just wanted to know me more.”

“You kept all this stuff.” It must’ve meant something to him, you thought to yourself. Why else would he have dragged it around to the surface?

“felt kinda bad if i just tossed it. people worked hard on these gifts, even if i wasn’t…err, am _not_ …interested.”

You weren’t really feeling too well. Your stomach was in knots and your chest felt tight. “I-It’s okay if you keep it, I mean, this is stuff that was specifically for you. Like you said, the people that liked you…they put a lot of thought and effort into this.”

You weren’t sure you’d ever even thought of knitting him a scarf. Or buying one. He always had his jacket, sure, but maybe he needed something to keep his neck warm? Papyrus seemed to like them, and thought you were positive it was because it was more about sensory type stuff rather than warmth, maybe…you were more neglectful than you thought.

“hey. i know that look. cut it out.”

“Sorry.”

You both sat in silence. Sans scratched at his backside and huffed.

“y’know…i always thought this was a waste of time. and space. never could see why anyone would wanna go through all this trouble for me. ‘cuz i gave ‘em a few laughs. that's not anythin’ substantial, heh.”

You shook your head. “You inspired a lot of people. Kept their hopes up in a time where things…got dark. You were always there and managed to reach out to so many of them. It’s no wonder they would’ve fallen for you.”

“you didn’t.”

“That’s because I…I’m different than they are.” You didn’t know quite how to word this. “We were friends. I saw you as someone I could count on.”

“you never sent me letters. or asked me out.”

“I didn’t feel that way before,” you confessed. “I only saw you as a friend.”

“so what changed?”

You stared at his expression. It was hard to decipher considering he had that wall up again. Something subtle. Fragile against the brittle smile he wore on his face. You saw right through him, but you weren’t going to call him out on it. Not when he was trying so hard to keep things together.

“I got to know you more. Trust you. Ended up…falling for you. After I knew that there was something more between us than just friendship. That night we went to the festival, you brushed up against me and there were…” You stammered. “Sparks.”

“sparks? heh.”

“Don’t laugh, I’m being serious. I’d never…well…anyway. For the first moment in a really long time, I felt like I wanted to be with someone. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. The fact is, when we lived Underground, we were getting to know each other. Some people need a little while to do that. For me, it took years – because I was so focused on other things that it never occurred to me to look at you in another way. But then we got closer…we became besties…and it was hard to step away from you.”

He grinned. Blushing. “damn it.”

“What? What did I do?”

He leaned over and gazed at you, eyesockets half-lidded. “makin’ me wanna smooch ya.”

“Oh my god.”

You cupped his face in your hands anyway, pulling his mouth to yours. Kissing amongst all of the different tokens of affection that was left for him over the years. Because as interesting as everyone else found him, they didn’t take the time to know him. To call him out on his flaws and his defense mechanisms. Stick by him even when he couldn’t devote as much time to performing in comedy shows and selling hotdogs. When he had those dark moments where he isolated himself because he had conflicting feelings about his past, the present and future.

“i knew humans were high maintenance, but damn, this jealousy of yours…”

“S-shut up.”

He laughed and reached down to squeeze your thigh. “nah. i’m ok with it. makes me happy, in a weird way. to know it’s not so one-sided…”

The both of you ended up gathering everything and storing it away in a box. Sans said that he would return the gifts to their respectful owners like he should have. He never did it before because he was afraid of hurt feelings and causing some serious backlash. He didn’t want to destroy it because he genuinely was appreciative of the effort they put into him.

“but i won’t have much use for it. got the girl of my dreams right here. wanna see a pic?”

He flashed you his phone background and you gaped at it. “Sans, where did you get that photo?”

“alphyne gave it to me.”

“They said not to call them that, it makes Undyne squirm.”

“’cuz she likes it. they’re like a single entity now.”

You snorted and pushed him down to the floor next to the box full of his admirer’s things. “Hey Sans, wanna take me to the bone zone? One last time before we leave this house?”

He laughed too hard between your feverish kisses to give you a comeback.

You and Sans came back out and Papyrus already assisted the movers in making sure the majority of the stuff was in the truck. It was nice to see him helping out, you just really hoped he wasn’t pushing himself by trying to make sure that they were okay. He perked up when he saw the both of you and put both hands on his hips, grinning at your content expressions.

“SO? DID YOU BOTH RESOLVE THE ISSUE?”

“think so.”

“Yup.”

“GOOD WORK! I KNEW I COULD COUNT ON YOU! WELL, I THINK THAT THE FIRST TRUCK IS READY TO HEAD TO THE HOUSE. SANS, THEY HAVE ASKED YOU TO ACCOMPANY THEM FOR DIRECTIONS. PLEASE BE STRAIGHTFORWARD.”

He chuckled. “no problem, bro. it’s ten miles west of here, right?”

“RI—WAIT. NO! IT IS SOUTHEAST!!! HOW COULD YOU FORGET THAT?!”

“and we’re on cranberry drive?”

“STOP! DO NOT MESS WITH THEM. THIS IS QUITE A BIT OF STUFF, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE AT LEAST HAVE A MATTRESS TO SLEEP ON TONIGHT.”

Sans left you with a wink. He called out to the rest of the crew so they would all pile in the truck and drive off. It was much quieter without the raucous laughter of the movers, the small, breathy grunts as the grown men and women tried to haul boxes over their shoulders, and the gentle whir of the truck running and ready for action.

“WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE WHAT I HAVE SPARED FROM BOXING?”

“You didn’t pack something up?”

“IT IS TOO IMPORTANT TO ENTRUST TO MY BROTHER.”

You and Papyrus headed back inside. Alphys and Undyne would be coming in a few minutes to help with the last bit of transporting, and the neighborhood was safe enough to keep the brothers’ things left unattended in the front lawn. You would only be away for a split second, anyway.

“DO YOU REMEMBER THE TINY ROOM THAT YOU THOUGHT HAD ABSOLUTELY ZERO PURPOSE?”

“Um…yeah?”

“LOOKIE.”

He opened up the little crawlspace and beckoned for you to follow him. It was just narrow enough for you to squeeze through, though you were a little reluctant to get so close behind him. Between your size and the width of the room, it was going to be a tight fit getting back out.

To your surprise, the little opening came out to a much bigger room. Something hidden away underneath the stairs of the house. For as long as they lived here, you’d never been down here. It was kind of crazy to think that there were still so many secrets that you hadn’t discovered. Or that Papyrus hadn’t shared with you, for that matter.

“What…is this?”

“JUST A STORAGE SPACE. MY PERSONAL ONE. SANS HAS A HABIT OF GOING INTO MY ROOM AND REARRANGING MY THINGS TO ANNOY ME. BUT DOWN HERE, EVERYTHING IS IN THE RIGHT ORDER IT SHOULD BE.”

He stepped backwards with a triumphant beam, the backdrop of shelves behind him filled to the brim with…action figures.

“Papyrus, this is amazing.”

“I KNEW YOU WOULD UNDERSTAND. I NEVER WANTED THE DOG TO FIND THIS, AND SANS WOULD EVENTUALLY CATCH WIND OF MY SYSTEM AND TURN IT INSIDE OUT. OR UPSIDE DOWN. OR EVEN TOPSY-TURVY, IF HE FELT SO INCLINED!!! THIS WAY, I CAN HAVE THEM SIT TO MY TASTES.”

You knew that Papyrus loved this kinda thing, but you had no clue that his collection was so extensive.

“DO YOU NOT REMEMBER? YOU WERE THE ONE THAT REALLY STARTED THIS COLLECTION…”

You blinked. “No? You had a few choice ones in your room Underground.”

“YES, I KNOW THAT. BUT I WAS CONTENT WITH WHAT I HAD. WHEN WE GOT TO THE SURFACE, YOU SHOWED ME THE NEAT FEATURES TO ALL SORTS OF SERIES AND CHARACTERS. IT WAS INCREDIBLE! PLUS, YOU GIFTED SOME TO ME AND IT ONLY FUELED MY PASSION FOR MORE OF THEM! I KNOW IT MAY SEEM SILLY TO OTHER PEOPLE, BUT IT IS FUN. AND IT CAN BE VERY RELAXING. ESPECIALLY THE ONES YOU PIECE TOGETHER. THOSE WERE THE ONES YOU GOT ME. CONSTRUCTING THEM WAS LIKE SOLVING A PUZZLE! AND YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I ENJOY THOSE.”

You weren’t sure what he meant until he walked you over to the far side of the room.

“I MADE THESE. THEY CAME WITH VERY BASIC KITS, BUT THEN I MOLDED AND SHAPED THEM.”

Your jaw dropped open in awe. What sat on the shelf were tiny little figurines…of monsters that you knew. Sans, with his hands in his hoodie pockets, grinning away. Papyrus striking a pose and looking confident and amazing with his battle body. There was Lesser and Greater Dog, Toriel, and…

“Is that…Frisk?”

“OH. YES.” He looked embarrassed. “I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE THEM NEAR. NEXT TO TORIEL. SHE SAW THEM AS ONE OF HER OWN, AND THEY REALLY WERE QUITE NICE! WITHOUT THEM, WE WOULD’VE GIVEN UP HOPE. LUCKILY FOR US, YOU CAME ALONG AFTER THEY LEFT.”

You plucked them up with his permission and turned them over in your hands. They were all hand-painted. Done with the utmost care. Attention to detail, their characters shining through their expressions and poses. For him to capture so much life in a still was a little shocking. You found yourself grinning when he explained the complicated process.

“…SO I THINK THAT THE OTHERS WILL BE COMPLETE IN A FEW MONTHS TIME. THIS IS VERY BASIC, SO I KNOW THAT I WILL GET BETTER WITH PRACTICE. I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON IT, HOWEVER. PLEASE BE HONEST.”

You weren’t a monster, so you couldn’t necessarily have stars in your eyes, but you made sure that your expression came pretty damn close.

“W-WHAT…IS THAT LOOK? IS THAT…?” Papyrus went bright red. “YOU…THINK IT IS ACCEPTABLE?”

“More than acceptable, Papyrus. Are you kidding me? I’m just…!” You laughed and held one of the figures up in the air. “This is _incredible_. All of the work you put into it. The amount of care and love for each one. I know you’re a lot harder on yourself because you want everything to be perfect, but how can you NOT adore this?”

He put his hands over his face. “N-NO, DON’T BE SO FORWARD…”

“I have to be, because otherwise you’d just brush this off. I love every part of this. The colors you chose for everyone’s clothes and armor. The way that they’re positioned and molded. Even the way that you made yourself! It’s so realistic and makes me smile, because it shows how you pay attention to so much detail…”

You continued to rant on, loving how flustered he got. It wasn’t really about the figurines. It was about how you could make him feel about himself. That’s what you really enjoyed about this relationship; the fact that you could be open with how much you cherished and adored him. Papyrus needed to hear words of encouragement far more often than he received them from anyone else, and you were happy to oblige.

“I WANT TO DO ONE OF YOU, TOO. I AM NOT HAPPY WITH MY PROGRESS THUS FAR. I’LL SHOW YOU WHEN I’M FINISHED WITH IT…IN OUR NEW HOME.”

Your heart swelled. It was still…overwhelming to hear those words, no matter how many times it was mentioned between others in passing.

Home.

For the longest time, Underground was your home. You had a cushy room in the royal palace where you and Toriel could gossip and just chill out with each other. You would make your way along the various places and shops, introducing yourself – over long periods of time – to the owners and residents. You found out places that others hadn’t touched because they were so far removed from the rest of civilization, little pockets of peace where you could cry alone, your heart aching at visions of your return to the surface.

When you got to the surface, it was a little hard referring to it as home any more. Things changed in your absence, and it got tough trying to find your way in a place that was so vast and different. Monsters saw you as their savior, humans bombarded you with questions, and all you wanted to do was have a quiet place to yourself where you could come to terms with the fact that you made it out from the base of the mountain.

 When you moved into the apartment, home was an iffy word. You felt comfortable there. You were safe there. You had your friends over when you wanted, you could use it to unwind and destress after an overwhelming day. It was a nice little haven away from all of the things that happened outside its four walls. But…

You weren’t going to be THAT cheesy and say that the brothers were “what you’d been missing all this time”. That was ridiculous, because it took a long time living on the surface before you realized that you liked them more than friends, and even longer still to recognize that you wanted to move in together.

And maybe the strangeness to the apartment was because it was so isolated. When you fell Underground, you were constantly surrounded by other people to keep you company. But living in the city, working a terrible job, and living by yourself, it was easy to feel so detached from friends. Until, of course, the brothers would stop by for an impromptu visit or rearrange your schedule so you spent less time moping and more time at their side just like before.

“WE SHOULD GET THE REST OF OUR THINGS PACKED UP. I THINK I HEAR UNDYPHYS MAKING THEIR WAY HERE.”

“Oh my god.”

“WHAT? IT IS BETTER THAN ALPHYNE. WHAT A COMPLETELY UNCREATIVE NAME, OF COURSE SANS WOULD BE ITS AUTHOR!”

You had fun helping him out with the last of the boxes. It had taken at least twelve hours to get here, and the house was still bare since the unpacking process would be days ahead, but you were happy with what you accomplished. The house here would need to be cleaned up so it was ready for the new tenants to move in, but that wouldn’t be too hard with Papyrus’ dedication and skill.

It was the first night at your new place. While you still had to move all of the boxes from your apartment over to the house, you were okay with the few things you stuffed away in your backpack. The movers went home for the day. There was shredded paper everywhere since Papyrus went crazy in stuffing nearly every box with it since he considered it all fragile (including…books? He said that KNOWLEDGE ITSELF IS POWERFUL, BUT THE THIN PAPERS IT’S ENCASED IN IS NOT).

“so we got all three rooms, but just to mattresses that are down here in the livin’ room.”

“WELL, I COULD HAUL THEM UPSTAIRS QUICKLY…”

“Paps, no. I don’t want you pushing yourself.”

“…OR WE COULD SIMPLY ARRANGE THEM DOWN HERE AND HAVE A SLUMBER PARTY!”

“I like the sound of that!”

“WHILE THERE IS NO CABLE HOOKED UP YET, I DO HAVE A MINI DISC PLAYER THAT I KEEP FOR EMERGENCIES SUCH AS THIS. IT’S IN MY BACKPACK, I’LL RETRIEVE IT.”

“i’ve got some powdered cocoa and water.”

“Why do you have powdered cocoa?”

Sans grinned. “what, you don’t ask my brother why he has a mini disc player?”

“Because it’s Papyrus. I’ve learned not to be so surprised any more.”

The younger of the brothers came back and plopped down next to you, cross-legged and beaming. Apparently the player itself was tinier than you imagined, but just big enough where you could uncomfortably stare at the screen and somewhat make out the figures that were having a conversation. The only thing that Papyrus readily had on hand was a six-hour documentary about how various candy was made. You had no clue why that one piqued his interest, but it was enough to make you sleepy while you sipped away at the lukewarm mix that Sans made in a few mugs he fished out from a nearby box.

“this is the life, huh?”

You snorted chocolate all over yourself. “Aw, gross!”

“NYEH HEH HEH. OH MY GOD. WHERE ARE THE NAPKINS? I THINK I HAVE AN EMERGENCY STASH ALSO IN MY BACKPACK, GIVE ME ONE MOMENT.”

“Papyrus, you’re so prepared.”

“prepared for trouble.”

“And make it double.”

“STOP IT. NO MORE. ALTHOUGH…THAT IS WHAT LIVING WITH YOU IS LIKE EVERY DAY, SANS. JUST A SLEW OF TROUBLE, ACCIDENTS AND MISFORTUNES. BUT IT’S FINE, I’M USED TO CLEANING UP AFTER YOU.”

He brought the cloth up to your cheeks and tried to mop up the dribbles of chocolate as best he could. You initially protested to do it yourself, but he insisted. He even tried to scrub out the stain it left on your shirt, but you knew that without some hot water, it was a lost cause. Everything worked in the house, all of the amenities were up to date, but it would be kind of hard to get all dressed down and take a shower when you had such little supplies as it was.

“THIS IS FANTASTIC. I AM HAVING A GREAT TIME!”

Sans cracked an eye open, sprawled out on one of the mattresses. “yep. a dream come true.”

“WHILE THIS SITUATION IS NOT…IDEAL…AND I’M SURE THE LOVE OF MY LIFE IS BORED TO TEARS, I AM HAPPY. BECAUSE LOOK AT ALL OF THE BOXES AROUND. SOON, THEY WILL BE GONE AND WE WILL BE FULLY SETTLED IN. THEN WE CAN ALL SNUGGLE ON THE COUCH LIKE WE USED TO. AND COOK DINNER IN THE BIG KITCHEN! I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IT ALL. AND THIS IS JUST A VERY MINOR SETBACK IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS.”

You smiled and sipped away at the not-fully-mixed drink, the marshmallow bits crunchy instead of soft enough to melt in your mouth. It was kind of cold, there was only a small blanket to share between the three of you, and you were pretty sure that you were going to end up rolling off the combined mattresses and onto the floor. You would probably wake up feeling like death, but Papyrus was right: this was all part of the experience.

The next day, all three of you went out to eat breakfast, considering you had to buy groceries to stock the fridge once it was up and running.

Toriel would be over to set things up – she was actually pretty handy with electronics for some reason. A lot of people assumed that because of her initial reaction to cellphones that she wouldn’t know what the hell she was doing, but she caught on quick. She was thousands of years old - she had to survive somehow. Living in the Ruins was her choice, but in a technologically sound world on the surface, she was more than willing to learn. And when she did, she thrived.

Alphys and Undyne were going through what was already at the house and just trying to organize things, more specifically emptying out what had been packed and at least shoving them into the appropriate room. They were nice enough to take some time off to help you out, and you were lucky that they considered you and the brothers their so-called “OT3”. Which was…embarrassingly cute.

You and the brothers stepped through your apartment door and gazed at the boxes you had to transfer, too. It really wasn’t much, a little meager even, compared to their haul. But you were feeling a little bittersweet at the thought of prying it away from your place.

“YOUR BOXES ARE MUCH NEATER THAN OURS. SEE, SANS? THIS IS WHAT IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE.” Papyrus held it in his palm and weighed it. “EASY FOR ME TO TAKE DOWN THE STAIRS.”

“Thanks, Paps.”

“NYEH HEH HEH, OF COU—WHOOPSIE DOOPSIE!”

You weren’t sure what he slipped on, if maybe he just lost his footing or he tripped on the curled edge of the welcome mat near the front door (that…you just realized you forgot to pack). He managed to catch himself before he went down, but in the process, dropped the box and the top popped open. All of its contents spilled across the floor.

“OH NO!!! I AM SO SORRY, I’LL…”

“heh, lemme give ya a….”

Both of the brothers went silent.

“What? Did something break?!” You rushed over, abandoning the load you had in your hands, only to see the complex expressions on their faces.

“the hell is all this?”

You gazed around. “What do you mean?”

“THESE ARE…MEMENTOS. FROM OVER THE YEARS.”

It was a little funny watching them freak out over some of the things that they discovered. In all actuality, you saved pretty much everything from your time Underground. Maybe it was a little silly to do so, seeing as how a lot of it could be classified as trash, but you were sentimental and had a hard time throwing this stuff away.

“THIS IS A PAMPHLET FROM MY FIRST EVER COOKING APPEARANCE ON METTATON’S SHOW.”

“Yup.”

“this is…heh…a program from the show i did where you n’ tori didn’t show.”

“Uh huh.”

“AND THE STICKERS WE FOUND AT THE DUMP, THE ONES WITH SKELETONS ON THEM. I GAVE THEM TO YOU BECAUSE I WAS POSITIVE THAT YOU WOULD ENJOY THEM. YOU NEVER USED THEM?”

“I wanted to keep them all together. And I couldn’t figure out where to put them,” you admitted sheepishly. “But this way I could always have them in case I did have a permanent place for them to stick to forever.”

“n’ this is an…empty bag of ketchup chips?”

You stammered. “Well…you liked them a lot, but I kept forgetting what they looked like, so I saved it just in case I stumbled on it at the dump again. Or when we got to the surface I could buy you some.”

“they were out of production, though.”

“Yeah…”

You really hadn’t thought that your collection would impact them both so much. But the both of them ended up plopping down on the floor and pouring over every single thing. Bright beams and calling out to each other while they showcased what they found. If you were being honest, it did bring a smile to your face – but only because their reactions to your little gathering of things was so pure and lighthearted.

“SO YOU ENJOYED YOUR TIME WITH US UNDERGROUND AFTER ALL.”

“Was that ever in doubt?”

The two of them went silent at your question. You frowned and surveyed their faces, seeing traces of guilt and worry etched beyond their usually happy-go-lucky expressions.

“well, uh…sorta.”

“YES. SORT OF.”

“Why?”

“UNDERGROUND WAS NOT VERY HOSPITABLE TO HUMANS. WE WERE MONSTERS AND LOOKED QUITE SCARY TO THE CHILDREN. SANS AND I DID ARE BEST TO MAKE YOU FEEL WELCOME, ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU WERE FRIENDS WITH OUR FRIENDS! BUT WE…UM…”

“kinda worried that maybe you were unhappy. that you couldn’t ever see us as…”

“LONG STORY SHORT, WE HAD HOPED THAT YOU WOULD NOT COME TO DETEST US FOR BEING TRAPPED. AND IT WAS HARD TO DISCERN OUR LEVEL OF FRIENDSHIP SINCE YOUR SOUL WAS SHIELDED OFF. WELL. LET’S NOT DWELL ON IT.”

You had no clue that they felt that way. It was…kind of sad. For them to think that your own anxieties and fears was just cold-heartedness toward them and their efforts to bridge understanding with you. Back then, you were always focused on one task or another. And maybe you came off as sort of standoffish toward people. But you really did have such a blast with everyone. And while the atmosphere itself wasn’t…ideal, the monsters you befriended more than made up for it.

“So…we’re keeping all of this?”

“ABSOLUTELY. I WANT TO LOOK AT MORE OF IT WHEN WE BRING IT HOME. THERE’S MUCH MORE HERE THAN I EVER IMAGINED! AND IT DOES TAKE ME BACK TO SIMPLER TIMES…”

It was strange, you thought, spending the rest of the day loading all of your boxes into the van. Emptying out the apartment that was chock full of memories from the last few years. Time flew by since your return to the surface, and your relationships with the monsters were vastly different from when they started.

You took one last, long look at your old place. Imagining the number of times Papyrus bolted up the stairs to knock on the door and greet you for a get-together. How Sans would always hide around one of the dark corners and come out just to scare the shit out of you. When both brothers would leave you packages of food on your doorstep for when you came home for lunch, something homecooked for you to munch on instead of rummaging your fridge for month-old leftovers.

It was a little hard leaving it. Driving away. Past the brothers’ emptied house. Down the roads chock full of people who had no clue that this was the start of yet another chapter in your life. You clutched onto the box in your lap tightly, your chest thudding with a faint ache, until you felt Sans reach over and put his hand on yours.

Papyrus reached over to stroke your hair while keeping the car steady. He glanced at you from the corner of his eye, and when he realized you stared back, he broke into a bright beam and flushed.

The car came to a stop and you stepped out, drinking in the sight. How everything finally came together. It was funny how…after all this time, you were content by yourself. It was strange to other people, but not to you.

A lot had changed since going out with the brothers. But standing here, looking at all of the possibilities and adventures ahead…you were positive that something in your life had gone right.

“dibs on the couch, time for our bi-hourly nap.”

“NO. WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE! SO MUCH UNPACKING AND ORGANIZING!”

“m’real bad at that kinda stuff, bro. can’t you just do it for me?”

“YOU HAVE TO LEARN, SANS. THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD. I’VE ALREADY MADE A LIST OF THINGS FOR YOU TO COMPLETE—DID YOU JUST BALL IT UP?”

“yep.”

“ARE YOU…PUTTING IT IN YOUR MOUTH?!”

“thyup.”

“DID YOU JUST SWALLOW MY CAREFULLY CRAFTED AND INGENIUS LIST?!?!?”

Gulp. “yep.”

“WELL…IT’S A GOOD THING I HAVE ANOTHER. AND I AM HOLDING IT THIS TIME. I, PAPYRUS, RIGHTFUL KEEPER OF ALL THINGS LISTED. PREPARE YOURSELF FOR A REWARDING DAY OF MENIAL TASKS!”

You laughed and raced forward, not hesitating for a second in taking your rightful spot at their sides.

**Author's Note:**

>  **question of the day** : are you a sentimental person? or do you have no problem in throwing things away?


End file.
